Oakland Rental Company, Non-Profit Renting Back Foreclosed Homes

A foreclosure sign hangs on a fence in front of a foreclosed home on April 6, 2011 in Richmond, California. The California Housing Finance Agency is expanding its $2 billion foreclosure relief initiative that will now help those who refinanced or took out home equity lines of credit. The agency's largest program offers $875 million in temporary financial help to people who have lost their jobs or had pay reductions and will provide up to $3,000 a month for six months to cover mortgatge payments and related costs. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)A foreclosure sign hangs on a fence in front of a foreclosed home on April 6, 2011. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

OAKLAND (KCBS) – An Oakland rental property owner and a national non-profit are teaming up to buy dozens of foreclosed homes in the city’s worst neighborhoods.

Waypoint Real Estate likes to say it’s “reinventing renting.” It specializes in fixing up foreclosed houses and then leasing them to tenants who are given credit counseling, budget advice and credit towards buying the house themselves.

KCBS’ Doug Sovern Reports:

Now, it’s announcing a $20 million partnership with affordable housing non-profit Enterprise Community Partners, to do exactly that in West Oakland and the San Antonio neighborhood.

“Basically what we do is single-family rental. So we’re buying homes, renovating them and renting them out, which is our core business model,” said Waypoint Real Estate co-founder Colin Wiel. “But to do it in certain harder hit neighborhoods in Oakland than where we’re currently operating today.”

The company was co-founded by Wiel and former Cal and 49ers kicker Doug Brien. Wiel said they often do what they call “home rescue.”

“We buy all our houses from banks,” he said. “Sometimes, we’ll buy a house and the former owner is still there, in which case, we approach them and tell them about our program and encourage them to become a Waypoint resident.”

They own 1,500 homes right now and hope to expand to 15,000 by the end of next year.

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